


Virtues of a Traitor

by Elreinodeloscielos



Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, Depression, F/M, Found Family, Samurai AU, The Hyuga clan are jerks but just the main branch, it's a little sexier than anything i write but it's not even that sexy so sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-29 20:51:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18785980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elreinodeloscielos/pseuds/Elreinodeloscielos
Summary: Samurai AU. Naruto sends Sasuke to retrieve one of Konoha's lost children. Hinata has been gone for a long, long time. The parallels between Sasuke and Hinata are apparent as they attempt to make a home in a village that never wanted them in the first place. Sasuhina. T for violence and language.





	1. Virtue: Honor

**Author's Note:**

> Cross posting this over from ff.net. Please don't expect regular updates.

**oOo**

**Bushido Code Virtue: Honor**

The Great Traitor of Konoha, Sasuke Uchiha, was being allowed out of the village for the first time in four years. However, the trip did not taste much of freedom when his wrist was bound with a heavy chakra cuff. Less so when he had been ordered to leave and forced to go on a humiliating goodwill tour. Sasuke liked cutting out all the superfluous bullshit and getting right down to the heart of the matter. Which was this: he was being forced out of his village to grovel for forgiveness in front of all the world leaders in their own dens.

Turns out he had offended a significant number of them. Attacking a summit was the most effective way of doing so, apparently.

Nevertheless, the new Hokage was optimistic that Sasuke's grand undertaking would be successful. Sasuke doubted it. He did not have Naruto's charisma and almost supernatural ability to talk anyone into taking his side.

But Naruto needed to prove he did not play favorites. For this, at least, Sasuke would be a pawn. Only for Naruto.

"I think I see the border!" Tenten shouted, trying to squint past the blowing snow.

Hampered by the precipitation, Sasuke and his chaperones slowed to a walk. By this point they were using chakra to keep from slipping into a waist deep drift. Ideally, they would have dug out a snow cave, but as Kakashi pointed out, they were in a country that did not look kindly on any Konoha nin. It was dangerous to stay there more than the few hours it took to cross into the Land of Iron.

Sasuke fell into a simmering rage. He did not mind his companions so much. Tenten, being the wielder of the Bashōsen, accumulated some kind of muted renown among weapon enthusiasts around the world. Kakashi, the former Hokage, was judged to be the best diplomat available… Both of them were more than enough to neutralize a weakened Uchiha.

He flexed his wrist in irritation. His control was honed to a fine point but he felt like a baby genin with only enough chakra to channel to his feet. If they were caught in a fight, he would not be able to activate his Rinnegan without sinking.

Kakashi said something only half a second before Sasuke lifted his head.

"Incoming."

Out of the white; gray, black and brown smudges slowly materialized on the horizon. The Konoha shinobi slowly moved to meet them. Their convergence point was a large signpost made of stone. He could not make out the symbols carved into the surface, but Sasuke could guess.

Sitting on the largest horses Sasuke had ever seen were a group of six samurai in full battle armor, towering imperiously over the newcomers. Their chakra simmered with warning. Despite himself, he remembered of the stories his mother used to tell him about ghosts who lived in the snow and would kidnap wandering children. Impressive at the time but Sasuke had forgotten what fear felt like.

They were human. Just like him.

The one in the lead slowly reached up a gloved hand and pulled down his respirator so his voice could be heard over the wind.

"Welcome to the Land of Iron. On behalf of Mifune-sama, we will be your escorts."

Three samurai came to be even with their leader, guiding three rider-less horses next to them.

"You will ride." The leader commanded before replacing his mask, cutting off any chance to argue with him.

Tenten visibly grimaced and Sasuke agreed with her. He had ridden mounts before, but there was something about horses that every nin seemed to disagree with. When a nin got used to hurtling themselves through the trees on their own power anything else almost seemed like cheating.

"Our thanks." Kakashi smiled with his eyes and nimbly launched himself into the saddle. Frost was slowly freezing on his mask.

Sasuke approached a horse, noting the strange wooden squares attached to their hooves. He realized they were literally snowshoes a beat later. Clambering on, he tried to take the reins but they were jerked out of the way and the samurai who had a grip on them led both the horses in their grip around in a half circle. Sasuke clamped his thighs to keep his seat, and without something to hold on to, he gripped the pommel with his lone hand.

Incensed, he looked at Tenten and Kakashi only to see they were receiving the same treatment. That did not stop him from sending a glare in the direction of the person next to him. Unexpectedly, the samurai was staring straight at him, boldly enough for Sasuke to see something was strange about their mask. The warrior titled their chin up in challenge before they turned to face the front.

The horse underneath Sasuke was spurned into movement before he realized it. This samurai's mask did not have any holes for their eyes.

oOo

The group carefully picked their way over already packed snow. If they were to fall into a snowdrift here, they would never recover the horses. But the animals seemed to know their way, choosing footholds that Sasuke could not have guessed were more stable than the others.

In front of the group, the leader, visible only for the russet cloak of animal furs he was wearing, steadfastly guided the way. The Konoha nin and their escorts followed. Behind them, the rest of the group fanned out in a defensive formation.

Strategically, if Sasuke wanted to flee, it would be difficult indeed. However, he was not one to run in the face of adversity. This so-called hardship, wading through a snow storm to talk nice to a diplomat was nothing in the wake of training for years under Orochimaru and his two-year penance in Konoha.

The leader raised a fist and the party stopped. Seemingly from nothing, a gray expanse materialized from the haze of white. Sasuke recognized it for what it was. The walled city of the samurai.

However, the city was more of a compound than anything. If he had to describe it to others, he would say it was a city in a box. Everything, from the buildings to the market to the stables was enclosed in a cage of iron.

The front gates slowly opened and Sasuke took a last, yearning breath of fresh air before they headed into the enclosure.

oOo

After leaving the horses in the care of the stables, five of the samurai that were in their party, including the one with the cloak, escorted the nin through a maze of metal tunnels and creaky elevators until they were sufficiently in the bowels of the complex. The leader informed them they were in the residential area and soon enough, wood floors were replacing concrete. They did not go so far to have paper screened doors, but had frosted glass ones instead.

The Konoha nin were escorted into a set of rooms, complete with a bathroom, a private room for Tenten and another across the main area for Sasuke and Kakashi to share. They were given an hour to prepare and then were locked in from the outside.

Kakashi threw himself down on the tatami mats next to an electric heater in the shape of a lantern and sighed. "Cozy."

Tenten inspected a large fern in the other corner. "At least this thing is real. Helps with the air filtration, I bet."

Sasuke wanted nothing more than a hot shower to forget what cold even felt like, but settled for taking care of the basic necessities. He stalked to the door. "I'll take the restroom first."

"Do you want me to lay out your kimono?" Kakashi called, teasing.

Sasuke snorted and closed the door behind him.

oOo

The three Konoha nin kneeled in front of Mifune. Just as the samurai leader was free of an official title, he also refused a lavish setting. His meeting room niggled at Sasuke's blurred memories. A large tapestry representing the Land of Iron hung behind a highbacked chair. The dais it sat on was only high enough that Mifune could look down on his audience, but not enough that he had to crane his neck to do so. A small table was placed to his left, holding only a scroll and a glass of water. His katana lay across his lap, like a sleeping viper. Light streamed from the cavernous ceiling, casting his face in harsh shadow.

Simple, yet effective at conveying power.

Sasuke bowed low enough to let his fringe brush the ground before sitting back on his heels on the cushion provided. Behind him, Tenten also kneeled. Kakashi's place was next to Sasuke's, but the former Hokage took advantage of his status and sat slouched and crosslegged, resting his elbow on his knee.

"As much as I respect and understand the importance of peace," Mifune opened, "it is within my right to demand your beheading."

Sasuke inhaled deeply. The regulation of his breath helped slow the amount of chakra the bracelet was sucking. The last thing he wanted was to pass out in the middle of arguing because his emotions caused the shackle to get the best of him.

"I've found that apologies are hollow." Sasuke stated. "Nothing I say will bring your samurai back. And I won't pretend that I saw them as anything other than a means to an end."

He paused. Mifune was a warrior that was less prone to make decisions based on emotion. This was far easier than trying to reason with the Raikage. Mifune might understand better.

Sasuke continued. "I have been paying penance in Konoha. But you and your community deserve something as well. I offer a portion of my family fortune to be distributed to the families of my victims."

Mifune raised an eyebrow. "Only a portion?"

Sasuke went for his version of brazen honesty. "You're not the only person I pissed off."

Mifune gave an amused snort. He leaned forward as if he was enjoying this. "Tell me, last Uchiha. What did the Raikage ask for?"

Sasuke saw no point in being obtuse. "My other arm. Or the Rinnegan."

"And the Tsuchikage?"

"The Rinnegan."

"Hmm," Mifune hummed. "And when was the last time you used the Rinnegan?"

"Two years ago. Then I was shackled."

"Yes, I noticed. It always makes me a bit proud to see our technology used by other nations."

Sasuke felt his anger spike and knew he was being bated. Mifune probably did want Sasuke to be overwhelmed by the chakra drain. To humble the arrogant Avenger.

The questions came fast now. Sasuke appreciated it. He was tired of going over the same things.

"Why did you return to Konoha?" The samurai asked.

"Naruto asked me to. My brother also wished it." Sasuke responded.

"Do you still want to destroy the village?"

"No."

"Do you still want to be Hokage?"

"No."

"What are your plans now?"

"I will serve my village to the best of my ability."

Mifune tilted his head to the side. "And what does that really mean?"

Sasuke shrugged. He could do literally anything now, even with his family's wealth depleted.

"Hmm I see." Mifune leaned back. It was clear he was done talking. Perhaps he had already made up his mind before the conversation even started. "We will consider your offer, Uchiha. You will be summoned when you have your answer."

"One last thing." Sasuke drawled. He could feel Kakashi and Tenten's gaze fall on his back. This was not in the script.

Sasuke reached into the sleeve of his haori and rested a palm on a small seal tucked right where his arm ended. He had just enough chakra left to activate it. Naruto made sure of that. A scroll materialized and he pulled it out to present it on an outstretched hand. Weaponless, Kakashi and Tenten relaxed from their ready stances but Mifune's guards still kept a grip on their swords.

He lifted up his errand like an offering.

"A message from Naruto." Sasuke intoned. He knew his wards were confused that he had been a willing messenger but not exactly surprised that Naruto put the Uchiha up to this.

Mifune exchanged a look with Kakashi before nodding to his guard. The samurai snatched the scroll before returning to his post.

"Anything else?" Mifune queried. "Then you are dismissed."

oOo

The team lounged in the main room. Tenten busied herself with sharpening a kunai, Kakashi with his book and Sasuke simply laid on the tatami and stared at the ceiling.

With his hand behind his head, it seemed as if he was lazing around. Instead, he was carefully cycling his chakra flow through his body. Without this practice, the chakra sometimes built up in certain spots or completely deserted others. This time, he was paying careful attention to his numb toes and fingers.

"So…" Tenten drawled without looking up from her task. "What was in the scroll?"

Sasuke did not flinch. Instead, he closed his eyes. "I didn't read it."

She gave up all pretense and put down her weapon. "But why not? Out of all people, I thought you'd have the least problem with looking at Naruto's mail."

His response was drier than the Suna desert. "I'm reformed."

Kakashi snorted behind the pages. "If only all former terrorists were like you," he sighed wistfully.

"I'm one of a kind."

"That you are," Tenten drawled sarcastically. She huffed. "Knowing Naruto, literally anything could be in that scroll. It could be state secrets or Naruto could just be asking about the weather."

The pages of Kakashi's book rustled softly as he turned a page. "It would be bad form to trust Sasuke with state secrets. It'd have to be something important. Symbolic enough to show that the Hokage personally trusts Sasuke but not any information that could compromise village safety."

"And what would that be?" Tenten prodded.

Kakashi hummed, obviously stalling. He liked having people's full attention when it came to any kind of gossip. "I can only think it's the Hyuga affair."

Sasuke slitted an eye open in time to see Tenten's eyebrows slam together.

"What's that?"

"Ahh…" Kakashi sighed. "What a shame that the younger generation has no knowledge of history."

Sasuke fully opened his eyes just so he could roll them.

"Neji was my genin teammate, but we never really talked about his family. I know he was adopted into the main branch." Tenten mused.

Kakashi eagerly said: "He was adopted into the main family because the original heir was banished. Here."

"Banished!" Tenten exclaimed. "What did he do?"

" _She_ was kidnapped by a nin from Cloud. The nin was killed and as restitution, Cloud demanded that she be executed. Instead, the Hokage negotiated that she be disowned and sent here." From the tone of Kakashi's voice, he was enjoying being the storyteller.

Tenten obviously was falling for Kakashi's bait. She gasped. "Oh no, how old was she?"

"Hmm… Little. Three? Four?"

"She's lived her whole life here! What could Naruto be asking on her behalf?"

There was a pause and Kakashi sounded a lot more subdued when he did speak. "Maybe he is asking for her." Sasuke could feel two gazes fall on him. "Our Hokage does have a habit of rescuing Konoha's lost children."

Sasuke turned on his side so his back was to them.

oOo

Turns out Kakashi was completely correct. Not surprising, considering as former Hokage, Kakashi intimately knew all of Konoha's dark secrets. Sasuke wondered if Kakashi had also tried to ask for the Hyuga's return.

When the trio returned to the meeting room, a samurai was kneeling in front of Mifune's seat, like a faithful vassal would kneel in front of their master. Sasuke was quick to notice that this was the person that lacked the goggle-like eyeholes in their facemask. He tried to get a read on their chakra but could not. He suspected the armor did something to block his.

"You came claiming to give me restitution, yet you ask for one of my most valuable citizens." Mifune rumbled.

"These two things are unrelated." Sasuke murmured, not even pretending to be unaware of the situation. "I only had my suspicions once I handed over the scroll."

"And why should I give her to you?" Mifune scoffed. "There, she is clanless. An outcast. Here, she has purpose as a samurai."

Eyes hooded, Sasuke could only stare. The parallels between him and this woman were ridiculously obvious even to him. "Naruto collects strays."

Mifune laughed and the sound echoed through the large chamber. The force of it threw his upper body forward and he rested most of his weight on an armest, boxing out the other arm.

"What say you, Hinata? Are you willing to return to the Land of Fire?" Mifune chuckled.

The samurai shuffled on her knees so she was now facing the lord. She bowed with her forehead plate touching her gloved hands. The respirator filtered her voice, making it genderless.

"I will go wherever you send me, General."

His voice softened a touch. Only a touch. "Then it would please me to send you home."

"Yes, Sir."

Mifune stood. "As for you, Uchiha, I have agreed to your terms."

Another samurai guard ran over to deliver a scroll. Kakashi accepted it before opening and reading the contents.

"I have added only one condition." Mifune continued. "You are to safeguard Hinata as you did not willingly safeguard the lives of my men. If you allow any harm to come to her, then our agreement is void. I will come for your head."

Sasuke glanced back at Kakashi. Kakashi nodded. Sasuke accepted the parchment and bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood. Swiping the liquid over the correct spot, he sealed the deal.

oOo

When they stood at the main gates with their horses, a large party of samurai surrounded them. A far larger group than the ones who had escorted them in. The reason was clear once the group parted and a lone woman led a mare through the gap.

Sasuke took the time to inspect the female he was now bound to. She was far shorter and thinner than her armor would suggest. Sasuke wondered just how thick those plates were. Her hair was long and loose and swayed behind her. A silky, black veil obscured her face down almost to her nostrils, fit over the crown of her head and cascaded down her hair. A naginata was attached by a leather belt to her back, but no other weapons or armor was visible. She was dressed simply and for warm weather. Swathed in furs, she looked mysterious.

Probably was super high maintenance too, Sasuke mentally snorted to himself.

Two other samurai flanked her, one of them being the one with the fur cape. Unlike her, they wore full armor.

"Our General has offered these horses and my companion and I as escorts." The man in the fur told Kakashi. "We will accompany you to your village."

"Maa, that's nice of you." Kakashi drawled, knowing full well that the escort was not for the nin. "Well, I'm Kakashi."

"I'm Tenten!" The woman in question chirped, waving a bit. "And that's Sasuke."

Sasuke sighed.

The leader inclined his head. "I am Arata and this is Kouki." He then motioned to the woman next to him. "This is Hinata-sama."

She bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you," she said in an airy voice. "I hope we can become friends."

It took all the nin by surprise, even Sasuke. Kakashi lowered his book (a normal piece of literature this time). Tenten stuttered out a polite response. Sasuke blinked. Her voice was extremely different from the robotic one of before.

Even through the filter, Arata sounded amused. "Are you ready to depart?"

Sasuke waited for Tenten to mount her horse and take point. Kouki followed, then Hinata, then Sasuke and Kakashi with Arata taking the rear. The crowd pressed in, either placing their fists on their hearts as Hinata passed or reaching up to hand her gifts. Both samurai and civilians were present. They handed her what looked to Sasuke to be meaningless trash. They gave her dried flowers or vibrant green leaves, tangerines, even a folded piece of paper from a child or two. She nodded with each gift, carefully tucking them into a drawstring bag at her side.

Sasuke's brow furrowed.

oOo

If Kakashi continued to peer over his book with a knowing gaze, Sasuke was going to set it on fire. Sasuke grunted.

They had wanted to avoid digging out a snow cave for the horses, so they had pushed forward through the night to find a tiny village with their one inn. Apparently, the samurai knew this place intimately and the owners had gladly accepted them in despite the late hour.

The rest of the party were still in the dining room, trying to warm themselves by the fire pit. However, Sasuke had decided to turn in and someone had to accompany him. Their rooms were separated by genders, due to the innkeeper's insistence, so Sasuke and Kakashi had some semblance of privacy.

Kakashi wanted to chat.

"What?" Sasuke snapped.

He sat on the futon and tried to do some breathing exercises before turning in. They were hard this time. The travel had fatigued him more than he wanted to admit. This weakness of his sickened him.

Apparently tired of being coy, Kakashi spoke. "You know you've just claimed responsibility over Hinata?"

Sasuke snorted, ruining his rhythm. "Do you think Naruto would have let me leave without her? It's his problem now."

Kakashi turned a page, seemingly uninterested in this conversation. "But it's your name on the legal documents. If something happens to her… Mifune will want you hung."

Shrugging, Sasuke responded. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"You'll have to make sure she's settled," Kakashi continued in a sing-song voice. "Has a good job, is reasonably content, gets married to a decent person if she wants to…"

"You're making this up." Sasuke hissed.

The former Hokage went in for the kill. "As much as you make fun of Naruto, he's not the only one who picks up strays."

Sasuke finally looked at Kakashi. "Have you gotten any word about Jugo?"

Kakashi met Sasuke's glare. "Tsunade says he's doing well in the psych ward. His new coping mechanisms are working. They're thinking about letting him stay at home soon."

Sasuke looked down at the wooden floorboards just past his blanket. He had been surprised when Konoha let Jugo stay. Even more surprised when Jugo asked to be experimented on, to see if they could help him control his rages. For two years, they had only been allowed to see each other in short visits and only in the bowels of T&I. When they moved Jugo to the hospital, Sasuke had been relieved. T&I felt too much like Orochimaru's hideouts for his liking.

While waiting for Jugo to recover, Naruto had taken off Sasuke's chakra inhibitors off so Sasuke could raze the Uchiha district himself. Now, most of it was a giant plot of grass, save for the small manor that Sasuke lived in. It was too big for him, but having another person in the house could surely chase out some of the lingering shadows.

"Jugo has space when he's ready for it." Sasuke said simply.

Kakashi's gaze lingered in Sasuke for a long time. "You're responsible for two people now," he rumbled in a rare moment of seriousness.

The unspoken message was clear. _Don't fuck it up_.

**oOo**


	2. Virtue: Respect

 

**oOo**

**Bushido Virtue: Respect**

Tenten really liked Hinata's naginata. She made sure to repeatedly mention it to Hinata, to Arata, to Kouki, and to Sasuke and Kakashi once they were alone.

Then she said: "Why does Hinata wear that veil?"

Silence followed her question. She shot a glance at the inn that Hinata and her escorts had disappeared into.

Believing she was in the clear, she continued. "Who wears a veil that covers their eyes? Even when she takes it off at night, she's bound them up. Like Neji covers his curse seal, but..." She struggled for words for a second. "But lower? Most of her face is always covered is all I'm saying."

Kakashi snorted at her clumsy explanation. Having already finished both of his novels for the third time this trip, he was leaning against a porch post, hands in his pockets. They were still in Iron Country and figured three samurai would have better luck getting rooms than three shinobi.

Sasuke busied himself checking the horses before they were turned over to the inn's stables. He carefully picked some of the snowpack out from their horseshoes, still listening. It was getting warmer and all the snow was turning into mud, making him somewhat appreciative of the animals that kept them off the ground. The horse whose front right hoof he was inspecting leaned over and lipped at Sasuke's hair.

All of his charitable feelings for the horses abandoned him. Stiffly, Sasuke pushed the hoof off where he had propped it on his leg and stood.

"The agreement was that at least for the beginning, the fact that she was Hyuga would be hidden. And making a kid constantly cast a henge was unrealistic." Kakashi explained.

Tenten hummed thoughtfully. "But isn't the veil more suspicious?"

The former Hokage shrugged. "Samurai are more likely to take your word for it than nin." The subtle, joking jab was apparent in the tone of his voice.

"So why now?" Tenten countered.

"She's used to it? Tan lines?"

She huffed. Obviously, she was not getting the answers she wanted. "You would know about tan lines."

It was strange to see both of Kakashi's eyes curve in a smile instead of just one. He was a master at misdirection with his skills being honed by his brief, unwanted stint as Hokage. If he did not want to give Tenten a clear answer, he would not. She seemed to realize this and huffed in defeat.

"You do realize she'll probably have to get evaluated by T&I anyway?" Sasuke drawled. "If she's hiding something, they'll figure it out."

Tenten leaned around her horse's head to goggle at him. "T&I?! _Really_?"

Sasuke shrugged. "She was a foreign fighter." Both he and Jugo had gone through the same experience. The only difference was that her evaluation would probably more of an actual psychological and physical evaluation than a hostile interrogation.

Kakashi hummed his agreement. "If she fought in a war, then our rules regarding combat still apply. She'd be like any foreign nin applying for asylum."

"But Naruto asked for her back!" Tenten exclaimed.

"A Hokage still has to follow the rules. Or at least, pretend he is." Kakashi's smirking lips cast a visible shadow underneath the mask.

The samurai chose that moment to exit the inn. They crossed the muddy street to where the nin were waiting.

"We have two rooms," Arata announced. "Come."

oOo

One morning, Sasuke woke up and had absolutely zero motivation to lift himself off his mat. They were halfway to Konoha and of course it had to happen now. This had been happening more and more often since the end of the war. Probably since his final goodbye with Itachi.

The last thing he wanted was to wake up. All he wanted was to spend all day in a miserable haze. He did not want to eat, or get up, or talk to another human being.

In T&I, his interrogators had bandied about the words "depression" and "purposeless." They never seemed to stick in Sasuke's mind. When he thought about these periods of apathy, he could not assign a name to them. There was no one left to avenge. No ultimate opponent that Sasuke had to train to beat. His chakra was suppressed, he was not allowed out of the village without escorts and he just finished negotiating away his inheritance.

There was no reason to get up really.

He heard the rustling of the other men in the room as they got ready for the morning. He did not feign sleep, but neither did he rise to join them. The two samurai soon left the room, not mentioning that normally, Sasuke was the first one to rise. One of Kakashi's knees cracked as he squatted next to Sasuke's futon.

"Sasuke," Kakashi murmured to Sasuke's back. This was not the first time he needed to intervene. "You need to fight this battle today. For Hinata."

For a moment, that pierced Sasuke's haze. This was not Kakashi's usual pep talk. Most days, Kakashi ended up letting Sasuke be. But that was before their mission stopped being all about Sasuke.

"You took responsibility over her safety. And you know the first rule of escort missions."

Rule One: The longer they were on the road with a high value target, the higher the probability of an attack.

Sure, Hinata wore armor and never complained when they needed to camp out. But that did not guarantee that she was capable of defending herself. For all they knew, she was as helpless as a spoiled diplomat.

He continued. "Mental battles are the hardest to fight…" Kakashi trailed off, perhaps at a loss for words. What could possibly motivate someone who had no single positive emotion left? "You have a mission to complete." Kakashi hesitated for a moment, then rose and left.

Sasuke lay there for a couple more minutes. He did not feel better. But he slowly remembered what it was like to move his limbs. Ever so slowly, he managed to half-heartedly prepare for the day and stumble down to the rest of the party.

He avoided Tenten's eyes but could feel her worried gaze on him. He passed by Hinata's horse towards his and as he did, she gasped. He stopped and looked up, but she had her face turned away.

Shrugging, he threw himself onto the saddle of his own horse. It pranced a bit, uneasy with the lassitude of his usually alert rider, but settled quickly.

Kakashi pulled up beside him. "Ready?"

Sasuke nodded.

Kakashi forced his eyes to smile. "Let's go then."

oOo

At the border of the Land of Earth, the samurai had traded their sturdy horses for smaller ones with normal horseshoes. That made the horses easier to maneuver. Hinata demonstrated this by skillfully coaxing her horse around to pull even with Kakashi's.

"Kakashi-sama?" She questioned only loud enough to be heard over the horse's steps and jangling of the metal in their saddles.

The man in question chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Honestly, Hinata-san, you don't have to be so formal."

Her mouth firmed into a straight line. "You are a former Hokage; I insist. It is only right."

He sighed, knowing he was beat. "What can I do for you, Hinata-san?"

"I know it's inconvenient, but you said we are in the Land of Earth? I have an interest in horticulture and was wondering if we could stop to allow me to gather some samples. The flora is very interesting here." She responded.

Kakashi nodded. "Sasuke. Can you let Tenten know what we're looking for?"

Sasuke looked up and blinked slowly. He knew in theory that they would need to look for a good campsite with easy access to a water supply and different plants. But he could not get his brain to process what Kakashi had asked. An uncomfortable moment passed before Hinata spoke once more.

"I will go." Tapping her horse's flanks with her heels, she sped away.

"Sasuke," Kakashi murmured. In response, Sasuke could only manage the laziest shrug. His eyes were dry and aching.

In his fog, he barely registered how the group stopped to make camp. Kouki grumbled something about Sasuke not picking up the slack. Sasuke could not bring himself to care.

Finally, finally it was sunset. Hoping to feel a little more alive when it was his time to take watch, Sasuke was ready to head to his spot to sleep. Before he could rise from the campfire, someone stopped in front of him. Looking up, he saw Hinata. Her back to the fire and the veil on her face, she blended into the lengthening shadows. _Danger_ , Sasuke's instincts warned. Only nin owned the night.

"I made tea." Hinata's soft tones drifted down to him. Sure enough, she had a cup cradled in both hands, extended out to him. It was so close that he could see the steam wafting up from the water.

He leaned back a bit. The thought of consuming anything was physically revolting. It made him nauseous.

She continued. "Everyone has had some already."

Honestly, at this point, even if she was trying to poison him, he did not care. She probably held a grudge against him. But it was easier to find someone who actually liked him than someone who did not.

"It's good, Sasuke." Tenten chirped from across the fire.

Grudgingly, he accepted the cup. With the light that was left, he caught Hinata's lips curve up before she turned and swiftly made her way back to her spot with Arata and Kouki.

Inhaling deeply, Sasuke tried to convince himself that he wanted the tea. As much as he wanted to dump it on the floor, he had to drink what he had already accepted. That inhale brought the smell of the herbs to his nose and strangely, it seemed alleviate some of his nausea. With some of his hesitation gone, he brought the cup up to his lips.

The tea was light and slid down his throat easily. He did not have time to grimace or be uncomfortable with the sensation because it was already gone.

The effects truly hit him when he was lying in his pallet, staring blearily at the sky and trying to convince himself to do his exercises. He took a deep breath and something deep inside him loosened. If he was not already lying down, he would have probably fallen ass over head. His chakra broke over him like a cool wave, washing away his queasiness and tightness in his chest. He gasped, feeling his fingers and toes tingle with the returned sensation. Gripping his shirt over his galloping heart, he panted.

Sasuke could not remember the last time in two years he felt this good. His chakra cycled through him like it should. Smoothly and without getting stuck at any major points.

Damn, even his vision seemed clearer. The light of the stars was so bright it was almost blinding.

A hand flew up to his face but neither the Sharingan or the Rinnegan were active.

_What the hell did she do to me?_ Sasuke thought.

oOo

He did not get a chance to corner her until the next night. They were camped near a large stream. In this part of the Land of Earth, there was a large stretch before them with no civilization for many kilometers. The vegetation also trickled out, leaving the land barren and rocky. Preparing, Tenten had downed a large buck. Arata and Kouki accompanied her downstream to clean and pack it for the rest of the trip. Hinata had stayed upstream and ducked behind a cluster of boulders to prepare for bed.

During his time with Orochimaru, Sasuke had learned how to memorize and track an individual's chakra. It was helpful to know when Orochimaru was approaching his cell. Or Kabuto.

With Hinata's armor off, it was child's play to track her chakra. It was weak, as expected, but ever pulsing with her heartbeat. When Sasuke felt it heading back, he stood.

"Going somewhere?" Kakashi drawled. He and Sasuke had done a little foraging before all the plant life disappeared altogether. Kakashi was finishing wrapping the berries and tubers before sealing them in scrolls.

Even though Sasuke's chakra was still limited, its renewed flow was making him antsy. He could not remember the last time he had this much energy. He would have liked to have been the one hunting. But it was too risky to allow him free reign to run.

"Gonna walk." Sasuke grunted.

The two men exchanged speaking glances.

_Don't do anything foolish,_ Kakashi warned.

Sasuke sniffed and moved to head off Hinata. He knew Kakashi could also track everyone by the feel of their chakra and it was clear what Sasuke wanted to do.

He was not going to hurt her. At least not unless he needed to.

He called up his innate stealth because he was still a nin, dammit. Stalking to his prey, he headed her off before she could get halfway back.

For her part, Hinata did not flinch. She stopped before Sasuke could crowd her into the cleft of two rocks and stood with her back to the stream. Annoyed that she had not allowed herself to be cornered, Sasuke paced close.

With the weather getting warmer, she packed her furs away. The naginata was still present. Her clothes were baggy, allowing free range of movement and possibly places to hide other weapons. Unarmed, Sasuke did not really need weapons when his whole body was one. Surely, even his weakened self could take on such a fragile looking creature.

"Hello, Uchiha-san." Hinata softly greeted. She shifted the bundle of supplies in her arms so she could cradle it in her left elbow to keep her right hand free. "Is there something you needed from me?"

Sasuke fought the urge to growl. The fact that she had provided him so much relief actually served to piss him off.

"What did you do?" He demanded.

During the whole confrontation, she had been deceptively relaxed. Sasuke only knew she was faking because at his words, something in her shoulders gave way. Without her eyes visible, only her body language betrayed any of her emotions to him.

"It worked then. I am glad." She replied breathily.

Sasuke pushed closer until he could almost feel the warmth of her body. "What worked?" He growled.

Her head tilted up and it was like she was looking at him through the veil. Sometimes she did that and confused Tenten. Most of the time, Hinata was alert but never looked exactly at what should be the focus of her attention. It made it seem like she was blind. Until moments like this.

Sasuke wondered if she activated her Byakugan in times of high stress. Or did she even know how?

"The chakra cuff you're wearing," Hinata began explaining. "We use them in the Land of Iron as training devices. Samurai need to be able to fight without chakra." She reached out and tapped his manacle. Sasuke wondered at the boldness of her movement. Who did she think she was?

Hinata continued. "But the side effect is that your body is not able to cycle your chakra the way it needs to. Breathing exercises help. The tea helps as well. But only for a short while. I suggest you find someone who can regularly unblock it for you, and those results will last the longest."

He blinked, feeling almost winded by the rage building up in him. Why had no one told him this before? The breathing exercises were the result of his own experimentation.

Was that part of his punishment? Did T&I get their kicks from keeping him in ignorance?

"If there's nothing else, Uchiha-san…" Hinata said before slipping around him to make way to camp.

Risking it, Sasuke called up a chidori and pulverized the largest boulder he could find. The strain caused black spots to form in his vision. The action did not temper his anger but exhausted him enough that when he dragged himself back to camp, he was not up to saying or doing anything senseless.

Kakashi was giving him another look but Sasuke did not bother to interpret this one.

No matter what he tried, his hatred of Konoha was still present and boiling under his skin.

oOo

Sasuke could not let it go. Which probably was not a surprise, considering his track record.

Also considering his track record, he believed that he had a right to be suspicious. They might be taking Hinata to Konoha but who knew how deep her allegiances ran to the Land of Iron? She might have cared about one of the men he killed. Even worse if they were romantically involved.

If she did not hold a grudge, Sasuke could be suspicious for an entirely different reason. He had been subject to women going to ridiculous lengths to get close to him. Maybe it would be twisted for her to consider him a romantic prospect. But he had done worse to Karin. To Sakura.

He had been looking over his shoulder his entire life. He was tired of it.

Now thanks to Hinata, he finally had the energy to fight it.

Urging his horse forward, he pulled even with Hinata. She continued looking straight ahead but tilted her head in his direction. Kouki glanced back. The samurai had kept his helmet and respirator on but had slid the goggles off. So, it was obvious that the other man was glaring at Sasuke.

"Yes, Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked.

How did she identify him like that? Was the small amount of chakra she harnessed enough to pinpoint other people's signatures?

"Why did you do it?" He demanded.

She was quick on the uptake, he would give her that. Her response was ready immediately.

"I was not lying when I said I wanted to be friends."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Before he could respond, Kouki called out: "Is there a problem, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata's lips curled up and in that moment Sasuke realized how her interactions with him and the other nin were nothing but consummate politeness. If she had been warm before, now she was blistering.

"I'm okay for now, Kouki-kun."

Sasuke's horse nickered and lipped at Hinata's mare. Hinata smoothly guided her horse a safe distance away. For some reason, it almost felt like a betrayal. Done with engaging in this, Sasuke slowed his animal. Kakashi caught up.

"Something I should be aware of, Sasuke?" Kakashi rumbled, censure dripping from every syllable.

Sasuke looked away. "Tch."

oOo

For the first week, Hinata steadily fed Sasuke the tea. He did not know if everyone got the same kind, but no matter how he watched her, he could not see her use any slights of hand to switch the powdered herbs.

Her movements were graceful and with the trained movements of a high-class lady. Or geisha. Sasuke briefly wondered what service she really provided for the Land of Iron.

After, she tapered off the doses. And neither Kouki nor Arata left her alone anymore. She must have told them something to make them hover like guard dogs.

It did not matter though, he still felt better than ever. His chakra reserves were still low but he could breathe without feeling like Naruto's giant toad summon was sitting on his chest. It had been a good deal of time since his last "episode" as well.

It was clear to him that he owed her. He did not like it to say the _very_ least. He had spent the last few months paying off the leaders of different villages to forget his war crimes. Sasuke had killed Orochimaru before the snake could come to collect. Now poor and collared, he could not do either with Hinata.

What he needed was for someone to threaten her life.

The second week of traveling through the gully of the Land of Earth, Sasuke found his chance.

oOo

Unexpectedly, Tenten came to a quick halt and immediately pulled her large scroll free from the strap on her back. The rest of the group halted as well. Sasuke looked up and sighed out a curse. They were in a ravine, bounded on either side by cliffs. It was the perfect spot for an ambush.

Arata rode up to come close enough to Kakashi to speak.

"Bandits?" Arata asked lowly.

Kakashi shrugged, still holding a book, but his chakra was fanning out. "Well, they are the only ones who really make trouble these days."

Sasuke almost felt like his Rinnegan was itching. He ached to use it. His impatience to get this over with and back to Konoha swamped him.

Kakashi paused, then spoke. "Their chakra is weak to nonexistent but any good nin can hide that."

Sasuke spit to the side to clear his throat and nostrils in preparation for the fight. Those bastards came from all over. From rice farmers to former nin, the roving gangs of bandits were people were unhappy with peace and searching to gain power in whatever way possible. The Konoha group had experienced dust ups with them before and always won. But it was tedious.

A whistle and Tenten was knocking an arrow out of the air. The horses shifted but kept from bolting. War horses.

Sasuke pulled out a kunai from his leg pouch and glanced at Kakashi. Kakashi nodded and in a flash, they were off their horses darting in opposite directions up the cliff wall. From what Sasuke could feel, there were ten of them in the walls, five on each side. A large number were charging in from the front, streaming into the gully like so many ants.

Below, Tenten was unleashing a barrage of weapons at that group, but it must have been made of nin because they were dodging most of them. Arata joined her, leaving Kouki with Hinata.

Sasuke's attention snapped to his own situation as a sword slipped out of a thin but tall crevice. It was clumsily done as the flat of the blade was facing the sky. Slightly correcting his course, Sasuke continued upwards and stepped on the sword, using it as a springboard to launch himself into a backflip. The weapon slipped out of the attacker's grasp. Timing it just right, he released a fireball right in front of the bandit's hiding place. The flames were sucked into the gap and the man did not have time to scream before he was killed.

A quick glance upward informed him of the arrow coming from just above him and to the side, Sasuke flung a kunai attached to a length of chakra wire. The strength of his throw buried it almost to the hilt. He wrapped the end of the wire opposite of the blade once around his hand. The wire snapped taut and threw him forward enough that he could stick his feet back to the rock wall once more.

The arrow passed by him. Scrambling with the tips of his fingers scratching at the rock to get a better grip, Sasuke angled his body so he could head to the source. If he wanted to protect the people on the ground, it was his best chance.

The archer he was heading for could not quite get a good shot in but apparently, he had a friend. Said friend was hurling boulders at Sasuke. It was easier for the bandit to roll the rocks down the slight slant of the cliff than for the archer to angle the shots correctly. Sasuke caught a sharp edge of one on his arm and grit his teeth. It felt like a friction burn and had not hit his bones, so that was a good sign.

Jumping exposed him to the arrows. Staying on the wall, to the boulders.

This was stupid.

Sasuke commenced a dangerous dodging game and it felt like the cliff was growing longer as he ran up it.

Cursing, he briefly activated his Rinnegan and reversed the flow. The genjustu disappeared in time for Sasuke to get nailed in the left shoulder. The nin who had been manipulating Sasuke's sense of distance fell from his hiding spot, clutching his head.

Sasuke passed the plummeting body and crested the edge of the cliff. The archer was kneeling there and brought up his bow to shoot. Ripping out the arrow from his skin, Sasuke flipped in his hand and launched it. Right into the archer's eye.

A boulder just missed Sasuke's ear. Sasuke launched himself into a forward roll that turned him to face the giant of a person behind him and blindly launched a handful of kunai. At least two of them hit vital points. The hulking man fell to his knees but did not fall. He bared his teeth at Sasuke. Sasuke bared his own in frustration before launching a final blow.

A quick check of his greater surroundings revealed that he needed to get out of here because four of the bandits were dead and the fifth one was charging towards a weak chakra signature. One that Sasuke recognized.

Hinata.

She was alone.

Taking off at a run, he felt himself passing Tenten and Arata. Still alive and steadily defeating a dwindling number of enemies. Across from him, a chakra signature blinked out which signaled Kakashi had finished up his own fights. Kakashi flew back down the cliff, heading for Kouki whose chakra was flaring in a way that indicated he was badly injured. Perhaps mortally.

Sasuke brushed it aside. Right now, his priority was the only person he was responsible for.

The jagged cliffs devolved into huge chunks of rock, eroded into cone shapes. Instead of trying to jump on the pointed tips, he angled himself downwards and horizontally. Using his built-up momentum, he sprung off the rounded sides of each cone, moving ever forward. When he touched flat ground, he headed towards the path, which both Hinata and the bandit had taken.

Said bandit was waiting on the path, limbs loose and stance expectant for a fight. Glancing up revealed that Hinata was right in front of them, standing in front of all the horses. The blade of her naginata flickered in the bright daylight and her braid streamed behind her as she fended off two bandits. Bodies were thrown haphazardly in front of her.

In some way, a little of the urgency bled out from Sasuke. Clearly, she had been taught a lot more than pretty manners and how to make tea.

But clearly, they had sent her to stay out of the way with the horses and the bandits had taken advantage of that fact. Either the outlaws knew she was traveling with them or they felt that she looked like a high-profile target.

The bandit waiting on the path launched himself into the air and Sasuke did not need his Sharingan to see that kick coming. Sasuke waited for a fateful second before reaching up and snatching the bandit's ankle with his hand. Contracting his center, Sasuke let out a harsh breath and spun in a circle, letting the bandit go in time for the man to fly straight through two nearby rock formations before stopping with a wet crunch.

Sasuke did not wait to see the result before taking off in a run towards Hinata. Unsheathing his sword, he launched it at an empty space near one of Hinata's opponents but not towards the horses. Thankfully, Hinata saw his movement. She kicked one of the bandits in the chest with one of her heavy boots. He flew backwards just in time to get impaled in the back with the sword.

Hinata kept her leg in the air for balance and used her weapon as an extension of her opposite arm and caught the other bandit off guard to finish him off.

Sasuke slowed to a walk and stopped in front of his sword. He tore a clean piece of shirt off the bandit before pulling his sword out. Pinning the hilt to his ribs with the remnants of his left arm, he used his right to clean the blade. Hinata could not be farther than a yard and a half from him and he could hear her breathing a bit heavily as she inspected her kills.

But Sasuke had already known she was methodical. It did not surprise him that she would be so in battle as well.

One thing that was revealed to him was the state of the horses. They had been tied together in a straight line and the lead horse's reigns had been staked into the ground. They nickered but appeared unharmed. All of their supplies were also present. Which was good news for their most injured member.

Hinata approached. "It smells so much of blood, I cannot tell if you're bleeding or not Uchiha-san."

"I'll be fine," he grunted. Kabuto left him with much worse injuries for a longer amount of time.

His eyes roamed Hinata's body but he could not find any wounds against her black clothing. Her once pristine chest plate was scratched and dented in places. Maybe the wind getting knocked out of her could explain her heavy breathing.

"You?"

She let out a gusty sigh. "Bruised but fine. I haven't fought that much since the War, honestly. I'm out of practice."

Six bodies revealed her kill count. In a ridiculously petty way, it irked him that her number was the same as his. Also, the single use of his Rinnegan was making him drowsy.

With a sardonic twist of his lips, Sasuke rumbled: "You're not the only one."

Her breath hitched as his comment obviously stopped her short. Her lips pulled into a smile and while it was not something he usually noticed, he felt suddenly aware of how full and expressive they were. He looked away.

"Do you have medicinal herbs?" He changed the subject, checking the status of his remaining weapons. Damn, he had been overzealous with his kunai use. He hated doubling back to recover his weapons but on long trips like this, they had no choice. "Kouki is heavily injured."

She gasped but nodded.

"Here," he held out a hand. "I'll clean your naginata while you get your supplies."

Hinata hesitated for a moment. For samurai, their weapons were an extension of their bodies. They definitely did not hand off their survival to a nin they had met mere weeks ago. But if she had fought in the War, that means they were comrades in a way.

Hinata raised her face to his.

"I remember you," she said, "from the War." He did not quite know what it meant when she pressed her lips together like that. "You were death personified. Even shackled, your power is extraordinary."

Sasuke almost felt like laughing in her face. Lacking an arm and any kind of chakra stamina, he felt impotent. The less he could use his eyes, the more it reminded him of how much he had forgotten the basics. Yet her words seemed to make his spine straighten. Imagine that. The only compliment from a woman that really had any sway over him was a subtle confession of how much he terrified her.

He made sure not to brush her hand when she finally relinquished her naginata. Their rest of their group was heading towards them.

When Hinata's back was turned, his head fell slightly as he thought. Kouki would need some emergency medical attention before they moved him out. They would need to set up a campsite far enough away from scavengers. Kakashi and Sasuke also needed to retrieve weapons. Tenten's collection would have them out here for ages.

He felt like he was too young to be so tired all the time.

Right. One step at a time then.

He eyed the blade he was holding in interest. A bit heavier than he expected for a woman's weapon. Finely crafted which suggested money but no charms or adornments, which was unusual for someone who had the funds. A proper weapon for a proper warrior.

Hinata could take care of herself, then. He appreciated that.

**oOo**


	3. Virtue: Righteousness

**oOo**

**Bushido virtue: Righteousness**

Kouki's injuries delayed them for a week and a half. Hinata attended him faithfully, but they had to move him before she deemed prudent. Her medical supplies were surprisingly extensive, but they only had so much food and hunting lizards and wildfowl could hardly cover the needs of six adults.

Their new campsite was perfect for a convalescing warrior. They traveled far enough that the flora and fauna returned. It was close to a water source, medicinal plants that Hinata needed and defensible from both wild animals and enemies. Four more days of travel and they would finally be in Fire Country. Even the clearing had thick and verdant grass for the horses.

Sasuke had been sent out with very specific notes on what they needed to scavenge. Tenten decided to be his escort.

Apparently, she wanted to gossip.

"I think he's faking it." Tenten asserted.

Sasuke said nothing. He did not want to encourage her talking. Unfortunately, she knew he was a captive audience and barreled on.

"I mean, who wouldn't want someone doting over them like that?" Tenten shrugged, sticking her fingers deep into peat moss trying to find the main root of a tall, leafy plant. "But if it was us, we would have pushed on."

Sasuke could not help himself. Tenten was a bad influence on him. "Even with a hole in your stomach?" He prodded.

This unleashed a new landslide of words. She was smiling and Sasuke suspected she knew what he was doing. " _You_ of all people cannot be defending the limits of mere mortals. He's a warrior, dammit, he's had worse. Man up."

Sasuke inspected the leaves of a nearby fern. Their leaves were so tiny. Was this really what Hinata wanted?

"He doesn't want to reach Konoha." Sasuke murmured.

Tenten stuttered to a stop. "What?"

"The way he looks at her. He doesn't want to let her go."

She fell back onto her heels and squinted up into the tree canopy. This forest extended into the Land of Earth, reaching almost to Konoha. It reminded them both of home. Lapsing into silence, Tenten worked as she considered his observation.

"Why would she come with us if she had a sweetheart in the Land of Iron?" She finally asked.

Sasuke flexed his shoulder that Hinata insisted on bandaging with a salve, despite the fact that it was closing up nicely. Never once did Sasuke think she babied Kouki more than she babied all of them.

Tenten picked up on it quickly. "She doesn't act like she likes him more than anyone else." She hissed as thorns from a nearby bush pricked her elbow. She studied her sleeve to make sure the fabric was still intact before diving back in. "Oh damn. Who's she gonna to marry in the village? A civilian? A nin? Help her if she wants to marry into a clan. She has no one to negotiate for her."

"She's an orphan." Sasuke cut her off. "She'll do what all of us have to do."

"As an heir to a clan, you're not just a common orphan." Tenten corrected.

A tiny smirk reached his lips. "A poor clan."

"True. Who's going to want you now?" She leaned close, teasing. "At least if you were rich, you'd be a _rich_ former terrorist. The number of your stalkers is going to plummet."

He shrugged. "Heartbreaking."

Her laughter startled a flock of birds out of a nearby tree.

oOo

Soon, Kouki recovered enough to sit upright in a saddle and they were off. They all slowly developed routines of living with each other on the road. Kouki stayed close to Hinata but Hinata did her best to pay attention to everyone, flitting from person to person like a hummingbird. With another female to talk to, Tenten left Sasuke alone a little more. Which suited him. Her increasing familiarity was uncomfortable for someone who was only used to women either obsessing over him or hating him. He did not want to tip her in any direction.

Also, for Kakashi's part, Sasuke had spotted Arata sneaking glances out of a certain adult novel. Perverts attracted other perverts maybe?

Either way, Sasuke was comfortable enough to know that no one was going to slit his throat in his sleep. (Kouki might have wanted to but Hinata would not have let him.) The sleep Sasuke got underneath the stars was some of the best of his life. No dreams, no difficulty breathing. Just fresh air and the openness of the outdoors and the slight freedom it afforded him.

When they rode into Konoha it felt like he was willingly returning to his cage.

oOo

"You look better than when you left." Jugo observed quietly.

Sasuke let his eyes roam the room. Anger simmered and he did not want to be reminded of the secrets Konoha was hiding from him. Instead, he tried to find any changes. The matrons had let Jugo paint the walls a sunflower yellow. Not Sasuke's first choice, but it was not about him, now was it? Succulents and colorful, polished rocks adorned the windowsill and bookshelf. A handful of books filled the empty space between the decorations. Sasuke recognized most of the titles from his previous visits. An old-fashioned romance, where touching fingers to wrists was as scandalous as it got. An adventure, a book on gardening. The cookbook was new.

Jugo followed Sasuke's gaze. "I was thinking of learning to cook. Do you know how?"

Sasuke shifted in his chair. "I know enough." Orochimaru's facilities always had cooks, but the Snake Sannin liked to make Sasuke prepare meals at times. Probably to enjoy how obedient his host body was. Even before that, Sasuke lived alone and desperate times were the best teacher.

He changed the subject. "I'm thinking of burning down my house. Building a new one."

Jugo let the switch happen. "Do you know how to build a house?"

"No." Sasuke shrugged. "I can learn."

The bigger of the two men smiled. He was sitting cross legged on his bed, the mental ward cat dozing in the gap between his legs. "It could be fun…" He dipped his head but looked at Sasuke out from beneath his lashes. "Do you want to save anything from your house now?"

Sasuke grunted. Jugo was aiming to have a deeper conversation and apparently did not care about the subject. All of the personal possessions of his family had been moved up to the attic immediately after the massacre. The bloody tatami replaced. The only improvement he had done since moving back was burning the rotting linens and furniture. The house still slightly smelled of neglect. Mold in the walls was a real possibility.

Sasuke was not going to admit he was waiting to go through the attic until Jugo moved in. If Sasuke was going to exorcise ghosts, he wanted there to at least be someone to drag him back to reality. Or keep him from slitting his wrists.

Sasuke hissed. That was dark, even for him.

"I don't know yet." Sasuke answered through clenched teeth. "I know there's documents. History of our clan. We'll need that. When we submit your adoption through the council."

Jugo became so completely still that the cat jerked awake and nosed Jugo's leg in concern. "You'd… you still want to do that?"

Sasuke glowered. "Do _you_?"

Pink bloomed on Jugo's cheeks. "O-Of course. I meant it when I promised I'd stay by your side. But… you don't have to make me family."

Huffing, Sasuke looked away. "You're getting adopted into a pretty shit clan. We're poor and I'm a clan leader of nothing… but it's yours if you want it."

"I'd be honored." Jugo sounded close to tears. Then he added, more mischievously: "Uchiha-sama."

Sasuke leaned over and slapped the back of his friend's head. Hard.

oOo

The Hokage summoned Sasuke into his office.

Every single time it was surreal experience. Maybe people had forgotten after the War how much they disdained or ignored Naruto. But Sasuke remembered when people thought Naruto would stay dead last in everything.

When Sasuke entered, the Hokage looked up from his place at his desk. He smiled brightly, as if he was pleasantly surprised by this visit.

"Sasuke!" Naruto greeted, setting his pen down.

Sasuke nodded his hello, sitting down in a chair without being invited to first.

"I've got a meeting with Shikamaru in an hour and I need to have this all done." Naruto said apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck. Papers were scattered everywhere. "So, I'm going to have to say this then kick you out." He shrugged helplessly.

"Get to it then."

Naruto beamed once more, seeing that his friend wasn't offended. "Right. Well, Hinata. We've allocated her a cottage near the Nara forest." He paused to chuckle. "Mifune, that bastard, he knew what he was doing when it came to her. She worked in their greenhouses, growing plants and allocating them all over the city. She could tell us the exact amount of vegetables they grew, how much fruit a family could eat in a month. But nothing of use to us. She didn't know where the seeds came from. She didn't know what kind of food the barracks required." He threw up his hands.

"Mifune was preparing for her to come back then." Sasuke opined.

"I guess, yeah."

Two months in T&I and reintroduction. Not too bad. Much better than Jugo and he anyway.

"I need you to do something though, Sasuke." Naruto sobered. "Well not me, but Hinata needs you to do something."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

Naruto barreled on before he could lose his captive audience. "The Hyuga want to see her. They want to inspect her Caged Bird Curse Seal."

Sasuke blinked. So?

"Problem is, as I said before, Mifune's a sneaky bastard. They took off her seal. We don't even have a seal master and they were able to undo a Hyuga legend." Naruto exclaimed incredulously and threw himself back into his seat.

Sasuke blinked but this time in surprise. Yet, why was he supposed to care? It was easy to cotton on to what Naruto wanted. Their Hokage wanted another person to intervene where he could not. Only an ancient clan could intervene in the dealings of another.

"I talked to Tsunade. As I said, we don't have a seal master to consult, but if they try to reseal her… She could lose what's left of her eyesight. It could damage her chakra system. Worst case, kill her."

Sasuke let out a soft breath. "You want me to stand in as her clan head."

Naruto nodded. "She doesn't have anyone else."

And that was the problem. Sasuke was not interested in getting involved in clan politics. But she did not have anyone else to stand up for her. She was legally Sasuke's responsibility but he could bow out of this one. Her blood belonged to the Hyuga.

He understood what it meant to be alone. Naruto did too. But Naruto and Sasuke were strong enough to stand up for themselves now. Hinata was not. Neither was Jugo. Sasuke did not like the idea of caring for other people. As a child, he wanted to restore his clan. As an Avenger, he decided he could not have a family if others could rip it out of his hands. Now, the lives others were practically thrust into his hands.

He made his decision far more quickly than he liked. He would help. If she wanted it. There was a line he had to toe. He could not take over her personal autonomy in the name of protecting her.

Sasuke stood.

oOo

An hour later, Sasuke strode into the kitchen. Jugo was there, reading a recipe from his book and slowly mixing ingredients in a bowl. He looked up in surprise, then eyed the bags in Sasuke's hand.

Sasuke set them on the kitchen table, slowly taking different items out. The first was a paper bag of his mother's favorite loose leaf tea. He never had a preference, but this was the one she served to guests she liked so he supposed it would be good form to serve it.

They had an old, cast iron teapot but his cups were chipped and discolored from the abuse of years gone by. So, the next was a box of new cups. Another set of some dishes.

Sasuke held up a paper fan with a smirk to show Jugo. "Figured we were obligated to have these." Their stove was still a metal coil one, so they could actually put the fan to good use.

Seeing it as an invitation, Jugo put down his bowl and came close. "What's going on?" He opened the bags and inspected the vegetables and fruit. Pulling out a honeydew melon, he flicked it to hear how hollow it sounded.

"Remember Hinata?" Sasuke prompted even though he knew Jugo did. Continuing at the other man's nod, Sasuke said: "She's coming over at five. I'll introduce you two but Hinata and I probably need to speak alone."

Jugo sighed and looked at the bowl behind him. "I should have made something sweet then."

Sasuke childishly crinkled his nose. "The fruit will do."

oOo

When she arrived, he led her to the kitchen. Jugo was there, setting out a few appetizers and sliced melon on the table. Sasuke did not know where Jugo had found those larger plates, but they looked quite nice.

Jugo was clearly trying to contain his excitement as he shuffled over. He listened raptly as Sasuke meticulously laid out every step of his time away. Everything Sasuke knew about Hinata, Jugo did as well.

The redhead bowed when she did, but also extended both hands to engulf one of hers. "Welcome, Hinata-san. I'm Jugo. Sasuke-sama, I've made sure the tea is ready."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the honorific but he saw the set up on the table. "You did a good job."

Jugo flushed and rubbed his hands on his apron in embarrassment. "Thank you… so um… I'll just…" he pointed up. "Be upstairs. Nice to meet you, Hinata-san."

Hinata smiled kindly. "You too, Jugo-san."

Naruto said that Hinata had some kind of eyesight. So Sasuke did not bother to lead Hinata towards the table. Instead, he strode over and took his seat. Maybe she could see through her veil. Maybe she could not. But Hinata easily followed and lowered herself into the chair across from him.

The kitchen was a strategic choice. They had a receiving room but Sasuke was not his father and he supposed his clan of two could afford to be a little informal. As the host, Sasuke leaned over and served the tea.

Hinata broke the silence first. "How are you, Sasuke-sama?"

He hissed. "I'm not your clan leader, don't call me that. And I ran out of tea a couple of weeks ago."

She ducked her head. "Apologies." Sasuke did not know exactly what she was apologizing for. "I think I can find the tea ingredients here, but it might take a little bit. I'm not settled just yet."

"Is Naruto giving you a stipend?"

She nodded. "It's very generous, and the Hokage has promised to find me a job."

"Good." He pushed a couple of plates at her, prompting her to eat. She did so daintily. When she slowed to a stop and politely murmured her compliments, Sasuke went right to business.

"I suppose you're already aware of the situation with the Hyuga."

Even though her posture was excellent, Hinata straightened even more in her seat. "Yes."

"I can intercede for you. I would be acting as your de facto clan head."

She dipped her head. "Whatever you decide, I will listen."

"No," Sasuke practically snarled. Her head snapped up in surprise and tension was suddenly visible in her neck. Dragging his eyes away from the exposed skin, he leaned over the table a bit. "I am not your general and unless you ask, I'm not your clan leader either. You have to choose. Or we can send you back to the Land of Iron."

Hinata reeled back as if he had struck her. "What?"

He shrugged. "You have nothing here."

"That doesn't mean I don't want to try!" She exclaimed earnestly. "I can cultivate something here."

"You have no one? Kouki?"

Her reaction was so quick, so visceral. "I had a fight with him the last day he was here. This is where our General has sent me…" She fell silent in realization.

Sasuke watched her from underneath heavy-lidded eyes.

"I…" She hummed as she thought. Her lips quirked up a bit at the sides and she reached up a hand to touch them with her fingertips. "I've never quite had an opportunity to make my own choice before."

"Hnn."

She tried again. "I would appreciate your presence, Sasuke-sama. At… at the meeting."

She seemed embarrassed but her tone was teasing when she carefully said his honorific. Sasuke allowed himself to be amused.

"Okay." He stopped looming in her direction. Idlily, he picked up a strawberry and bit into it as he thought. "If they send a messenger, tell them they need to speak with me. If it's a scroll, don't open it. Bring it here."

"Thank you." She said.

"Haven't done anything yet."

oOo

Jugo sent her off with the carefully packaged leftovers from their meeting and cordially showed her out. Sasuke was grateful to have someone who was far more polite than he was. He would give Hinata a good impression leaving, which would stay with her more than whatever she had to suffer through with Sasuke.

Jugo leaned against the doorframe with a silly smile on his face. He watched Hinata until she exited the gates. "I like her. Can you adopt her too?"

Sasuke raised a brow. "You're not adopted yet."

Jugo laughed so hard it echoed off the compound walls. "Are you not going to? How close are you to changing your mind and not going through with it?"

Sasuke held up his thumb and index finger a millimeter apart. "This close."

Jugo laughed again and slapped Sasuke on his shoulder before heading back into the house. Sasuke stared after the retreating man. Jugo was developing more self-confidence. Good.

oOo

On his way to meet Naruto, Sakura called out: "Sasuke-kun!"

Exhaustion overwhelmed him at the sound of her voice. Irritation followed because of the way she made him feel.

Stiffly, he stopped walking and turned around to face her. "Sakura."

She beamed and jogged up to meet him. Stopping short at the last minute, she curled into herself. Ducking her head and crossing her right arm over her body, she shyly peered up towards him.

"Hi, Sasuke-kun." She greeted softly.

The sheer disgust he had for this situation made him sneer. She saw this and pulled back even more.

He pursed his lips to ward against a sigh. This was his biggest problem with Sakura. Her personality around every one else was as vibrant as her hair. Loud but fiercely intelligent, her hands could both make a man's head explode with a single punch but also stich the most delicate capillaries back together. Then when she was around him, she wilted like a flower. Like just being around him sucked the life out of her.

He hated the duplicity. It felt like she was constantly lying to him and if there was anything he did not need in his life, it was the falsity of it all.

Sasuke would probably like Sakura more if she acted normally around him. Maybe he would consider a deeper relationship with her if he thought she was honest. But all she did was walk on eggshells around him. Konoha was a village full of liars and the biggest example of it was right in front of him.

"What do you want?" He asked, gritting his teeth.

She recoiled. "I-I just wanted to see how you were doing. I haven't talked to you in a while."

Why did she act like he was going to snap at any second? It made him feel like an absolute asshole. Granted, she did have reason to fear him based on their history together. But then why did she insist on being around him? What did she get from this?

"I have to go." Sasuke shrugged a shoulder and turned to his original direction. Sakura made to follow. "Leave me alone, Sakura." He ordered.

She stumbled to a stop. If Naruto had said the same, she would have reordered his ribs. She gave Sasuke too much power over her.

He remembered his father for a fleeting second. Sasuke made so many promises to himself that he would not be the controlling, duplicitous person his father was. He promised that even if he could not scrub the stain of lies from a village full of nin, his own household would be a place where everyone could be honest. There would be no more repeats of Itachi tearing himself apart to save the village and the clan. No more repeats of his father hating one son in favor of the other.

He saw his future with Sakura and knew that it would just be repeating history. He did not have to love his future wife, but he was not going to despise her.

"Sasuke-kun," she whispered forlornly.

He turned his head to speak over his shoulder. "We don't have any kind of relationship Sakura. Go away."

He started walking before she could react. Even as emotionally stunted as he was, he did not want to know he made someone cry.

oOo

The warehouse that Naruto had assigned Sasuke to was mostly underground. Large and cavernous, damp with a few fluorescent lights struggling to give off more than a dim haze, the armory was a gloomy place to work. But a perfect way to keep Sasuke out of the public eye for a while.

He did not mind it so much.

Opening a wooden crate, he sighed as he looked into a crate full of kunai siting on the table in front of him. He sighed, seeing the top row rusted. Eying a puddle on the floor in disgust, he resigned himself to having to write off the whole crate. He rolled up his sleeves to begin work when he felt Ino storming towards him.

The jonin in charge of the warehouse followed, a smug smile on his face. The jonin was no doubt expecting Ino to take Sasuke to task over something. She was slowly rising up the ranks of T&I and her reputation was growing.

Both Sasuke and Ino ignored the jonin. Sasuke set down his clipboard.

"What did you do to her?" Ino demanded, her hands on her hips.

He did not answer.

"You broke her heart! You always do!"

"True," he conceded with a nod. "Maybe this time it'll stick."

"…What? What kind of sick bastard are you?"

He shrugged and started pulling kunai out of the moldy wood shavings. "She can finally stop lying now." He offered as his only explanation. "Learning you can't have what you want hurts but she'll get over it."

Ino's eyes narrowed. "You pushed her away for her own good?"

"I did it 'cause she's annoying." He huffed.

Surprising both men, Ino laughed. "Yeah **,** she's a pain when it comes to you." Her posture relaxed a bit. "Okay. I'll console her this time. Give her a push in the right direction. But that doesn't mean that I've stopped looking for an excuse, Sasuke."

Sasuke deliberately set down a rusty kunai harder than necessary. The only clear spot of metal caught a struggling ray of light, and it briefly illuminated the shackle on his wrist. There was a reason why Ino had been disallowed to be one of the members who oversaw his "reintroduction" into the village. Her soft spot for him was still visible a mile away, happily married or not.

Her eyes lingered on his wrists for a moment before she huffed and turned on her heel. Her hair arced behind her as she strode down the aisle. Sasuke's supervisor lingered.

"Pity that she didn't do us all a favor and turn your mind inside out. Take off your other arm at least." The jonin sneered.

Sasuke used said remaining arm to make a rude gesture. He did not bother to look up from his task when the other nin started sputtering in outrage.

"I believe I need an escort through this _restricted area_!" Ino called.

Torn by wanting to retaliate and protocol, the jonin stomped away.

oOo

Sasuke was in his attic, kneeling in what had to be at least a meter of dust. In front of him sat an open box and he felt like he was frozen in some kind of genjutsu. Carefully arranged into piles were picture frames. The thought of going through them had not daunted him until he was looking at his parent's smiling faces and realized something almost earth shattering.

He had forgotten what his parents' faces looked like.

Of course, he remembered that night with the awful clarity a Sharingan afforded. He remembered the way the terror made his mother's shoulders hunch towards her ears. How his father's lips pressed together so tightly, his mouth had been a tiny, tense line. Those were the resigned faces of people about to die.

Here, looking at these little windows into the past, he saw them as they were. When they were happy. When they were living.

He did not know that his mother had tiny crow's feet around her eyes when she smiled. He did not remember that dimple in the corner of his father's mouth when he smirked. Or that Itachi's grins could ever be so soft.

But suddenly, he remembered that birthday party. The day when he realized he hated sweets. That promotion ceremony, where someone lit a bonfire with a katon and his hair smelled like smoke for a week.

The room spun.

A creak from behind announced someone was on the attic ladder. Sasuke's eyes darted to the side and he felt the flare of heat near his eyes that announced he had unintentionally activated his Sharingan.

"Sasuke-san?" A female voice called.

Sasuke shut his eyes and let out a quiet breath. The tension in his battle-ready posture melted from his frame and his eyes returned to normal. "Come." He ordered.

Hinata obliged with slow, steady steps. A small eternity later, she was beside him. Sasuke fought down the urge to get defensive. A grown man should not lose his grip on his composure just from sitting next to old pictures.

She knelt beside him, so close he could smell the scent of her hair products. A quick glance revealed the ends of said hair resting in the dust behind her.

She did not seem to be one to allow herself the indulgences of most women. Never had she ever sported any makeup or jewelry or even flattering clothes in his presence. But apparently, she cared about her hair.

Sasuke blinked and tried to return to the subject at hand. Thankfully, Hinata spoke before he could figure out where to start.

"I received a message today." She stated quietly. Today she was wearing a haori over her usual clothes. She was not swimming in it but since it all bunched around her as she sat, he could not see where she had tucked the scroll away.

For some reason, this amused Sasuke. Her hair and her clothes, things he usually did not notice on a woman unless she was _trying_ to be noticed, had distracted him enough to shake him out of his mood.

The box was still there yet the menace it produced was less.

Sasuke accepted the scroll and opened it. He noticed the time and date before rolling it up. "I'll be there."

Hinata made a small noise of protest. "Ah. Pardon me, but when and where is 'there'?"

He froze. She ignored him, taking the scroll back.

"You…" And there was no way of putting this politely. "You can't read?"

She gave him a rueful grin. It really was not fair how expressive her lips were. "I used to be able to. I cannot now."

So, it was because a deficiency with her eyes and not her intelligence. Sasuke slumped in relief. He would hate to be shackled to a simpleton.

"Then how did you read the agreement between Mifune and I?" He demanded as the thought came to him.

She canted her head to the side like a confused bird. "I didn't. The General read it to me."

His emotions were too close to the surface and Sasuke finally lost his temper. "Then what would keep him from lying to you?"

Hinata snapped her head forward and primly sat straighter. "Mifune-sama has more honor than most. And trust can be earned."

"Tch." Maybe she was a simpleton after all. Brooding, Sasuke's eyes were drawn back to the box. The papers he needed were right underneath these photos but he could not bring himself to disturb them. It almost felt like if he moved them, the memories they revealed would fade, dissolve like ash.

He found himself murmuring: "I never knew pictures could hold such power."

The words that Hinata responded with were glib but her tone was respectful. "I wouldn't know."

The frankness of her confession startled him out of his haze. Startled him so much in fact, he could not stop the low, rumbling chuckle that escaped him.

Hinata would not know, would she? She did not have the intimate knowledge that the villagers did of the massacre. Probably, she had forgotten ever seeing a Uchiha before. She had no notion of what his family had been before and she could not even see what they had been like now.

Jugo and Hinata were the only two people in the village who only knew Sasuke as he was now, not by what was taken from him.

He stood, picking up the box. "Come on," he prodded. "I'll tell you about the scroll downstairs."

oOo

The day of the meeting, Sasuke arrived at Hinata's house an hour early. It would not surprise him if the Hyuga showed up before the meeting time, trying to catch Sasuke off guard.

Her house was small. With a gently sloping roof and a shade of green paint, it seemed to blend into the copse of trees surrounding it. Sasuke cast his senses to see if there were any ANBU around. Finding none, Sasuke assumed they had deemed Hinata not important enough to watch.

Hinata was quick to let him in after he gave one firm knock. She ushered him into the kitchen and Sasuke could barely catch a glimpse of a receiving room and a set of stairs. However, her kitchen seemed to be the place where she did most of her living.

A large window sat across from the appliances, and soft, golden light illuminated the space. Her decorating sensibilities seemed to mirror Jugo's. Along the windowsill were a small row of succulents and tiny sprouts. In the middle, there was an island counter, which was notable only because of what was above it. On her hanging pot holder, instead of having any kind of utensil, she hung bundles of drying herbs and ropes of garlic. Other plants were tucked into different nooks. Some childish drawings were displayed on the icebox, ones he recognized from the day they set off from the Land of Iron.

His lips quirked at that. She could not see them but gave them a place of honor anyway.

Hinata shooed him into a chair and after an affirmative, went to a cupboard to pull out a jar filled to the brim with tea leaves. The water had already been warmed so she simply put the ingredients in a heavy, clay pot and set it on the table in front of Sasuke to steep.

She doubled back to the island and reached up to carefully snap off a leaf from one of her bundles. Bringing it over, she took the seat closest to him and took his hand resting on the table to place the leaf on his palm. His eyes flew to her face and narrowed but she did not relinquish her grip. She did not quite seem to notice her proximity, her attention turned away.

With her other hand, she crushed the leaf between her thumb and index finger. A sharp scent reached his nostrils.

"This is the main ingredient for your tea," she explained. "See how it doesn't exactly crumble? It's not dry enough yet. A day or two more and it will finally be ready." She pulled back and Sasuke tilted his hand to the side to dump the rest of the leaf on the table.

He slipped the appendage to his lap. Not that it seemed that Hinata had been flirting. She did not take advantage of her grip on his hand and try to pull him closer. She had not leaned in. Did not run her fingers around the back of his hand. Instead, she was professional, almost cold. Like with Tenten, Sasuke did not know how to manage a woman who seemed genuinely interested in being his friend.

She checked the color of the tea before serving it. Sasuke took a thankful sip.

"What do you want out of this meeting?" Sasuke finally asked, cutting through the silence and going back to something he was far more comfortable with: tactics.

Hinata idly rolled her tea cup between her palms. "What exactly do you expect we can get?"

His brows furrowed and he gazed out the window. They were tucked out of view from the road, so it seemed like he was looking into the forest. "They won't seal you. But they're not entitled to give you anything."

She took her own drink then shrugged idly. "As long as they cannot touch me, I don't care."

"Don't you have any ambition?" Sasuke asked, returning his piercing gaze to her. The question had been sitting on the tip of his tongue for a while.

Instead of being offended, she smiled. "It's been clear to me for a long time that I am a pawn, Sasuke-san. My only ambition has been to survive and preserve my physical and mental health while doing so. Mifune-sama allowed me to at least contribute to the betterment of our people."

She raised her head to face him. "But what use does a nin village have for a castoff samurai? I'll have to build trust before Hokage-sama lets me do anything."

And maybe Sasuke had asked her because their situations were the same. Naruto might have welcomed them with open arms but he was still keeping them at a distance. Toys to be set on a shelf and ignored.

What use did a nin village have for a former avenger? What was he supposed to do after his life goal had been achieved? Working in a damp basement was not what he had remotely dreamed for himself.

"Tch." He changed the subject. "Don't forget that you promised to teach Jugo how to unblock my chakra points."

Hinata chuckled into her teacup. "Of course not, Sasuke-san."

oOo

When the knock at the door sounded half an hour early, neither Hinata nor Sasuke were surprised. She had already relocated the both of them into the receiving room. It was more traditional than the kitchen, with tatami mat floors and a table that one sat in front of instead of a high one with chairs. She had just finished setting a plate of snacks on the table when the visitors announced themselves.

Sasuke took it upon himself to open the door. Even though they were meeting here because Hinata was _not_ a Uchiha, Sasuke did not mind establishing dominion over the house.

When he saw who the Hyuga sent, he deliberately forced himself not to react. But what were they playing at, sending these two?

What were Neji and Hizashi doing here?

**oOo**


	4. Virtue: Loyalty

**oOo**

**Bushido Virtue: Loyalty**

Sasuke lazily inspected the two men standing outside the door. He did not know much of either of them, save for the run-of-the-mill gossip. It had been years since the Chunin exams where Neji had been "that Hyuga bastard." The rumor went like this:

For six years, Neji was groomed to be the next Hyuga clan leader. He was a clear genius, who managed to rise above his branch status. The world was his. They did not seal him.

Then Hanabi was born and proved herself adept. Perhaps she would even surpass Neji. So, he was sealed, far later than recommended. Some said this sealing affected his brain, turning a kind boy into a bitter young man. Others said he was disappointed in having a chance at freedom, then losing it.

Whatever happened, Sasuke knew that Neji was cold, and a pain in the ass to deal with. Sasuke did not know too much about Hizashi.

The man in question inclined his head in welcome.

Sasuke grunted: "She's over there." He closed the door behind the two men when they entered and they waited for him to close the door so they could follow him.

He took some satisfaction in the fact that his black turtleneck had his clan's fan embroidered on the back. Seeing as he had taken point, the people trailing him were forced to look at it.

Their steps were silent, betraying the fact that three killers were slipping through Hinata's house. Sasuke briefly reflected on that. He could always hear Hinata, but she was always wearing her armored boots around him, causing her steps to be heavy.

How was this straight forward woman supposed to flourish in a village full of deceivers?

When they entered, Hinata was standing. The Hyuga bowed in greeting and she mirrored them.

Sasuke's eyes slipped over her veil and mask and he recalled the conversation they had not even half an hour before.

"And what's going to stop the Hyuga from just activating the Byakugan and taking a peek at whatever's going on with your eyes?"

Hinata reached up and tapped at her mask. It surprised Sasuke when he heard her nail hitting something solid. "It's the same material as our armor. It doesn't conceal our chakra all the way but… obscures most of it."

He could not help but lean in. Before, he had not cared about her veil. But now he was getting curious. "But if you can still use your chakra, how does it not dull _your_ senses?"

Hinata gave a wry smile and lifted her hands in a shrug. "The technology has never been explained to me."

Of course. Hinata was never privy to anything useful. Another confirmation that Mifune was planning for her to come back, or at least considered it as a possibility.

He sat back and studied her. Allowing himself to be more candid than usual, he asked: "If I cannot figure it out, are you going to tell me how your eyes work?"

Her spine stiffened to an intense degree. Her head turned to face the sliding door that had been left open and faced a small garden. A breeze shuffled through the yard and disturbed the bushes. "I won't begrudge you an answer if you ask a question."

"But it has to be the right question for the answer I want." He asserted.

Her voice fell to almost a whisper. "They're almost here."

She sensed the approach of the Hyuga almost a second before he did. He allowed her to redirect the conversation.

Which brought them to this moment. Hinata exchanged bows with the two Hyuga as she re-met them for the first time. As the host, she settled at the head of the table and gracefully distributed the tea. If she was nervous, Sasuke could not tell.

"Thank you for allowing us into your home." Hizashi said just a touch above a murmur.

Hinata inclined her head. She was wearing a much more ceremonial veil than Sasuke had seen before. The thickest part, the armored part, was a solid black, concealing most of her face and it dipped lower at her cheeks to wrap around her head at the jaw. Above it was a lace veil that was so purple it was almost black and cascaded to her waist. Beneath it, she traded her usual clothing for a kimono and even though it clung to her figure, she still managed to make herself look like a sheathed blade.

Compared to the austere Hyuga robes and Sasuke's casual clothing, she was the most formal of them all. She was more akin to a princess in the capitol than shinobi royalty in this dusty village.

"The village has seen to all my needs and I am very grateful." Hinata responded to Hizashi.

Neji cut in. His posture was perfect, but he leaned forward like he wanted to assert his presence. Hizashi and Sasuke had settled to either side of Hinata so Neji was the farthest away.

"If I may, we are here on business." Neji asserted.

The tightness around Hizashi's eyes was the only sign that he was annoyed by the interruption.

"Forgive us," Hizashi smoothly resumed the dance. "My son is a consummate shinobi, but it can be said that the war has made us forget our manners."

Neji sat back and directed his glower at the table. Sasuke hid his smile behind his teacup. _He_ at least, could pretend to behave.

"No offense taken." Hinata demurred. "I admit that I am at a loss in regard to the purpose of this meeting."

Hizashi canted his head to the side. For a Hyuga, every micro expression was a sentence. A gesture: a shout across a room.

Hot damn, if Hinata was not playing the Hyuga like a fiddle. Something approaching appreciation for her technique rose in Sasuke's chest. She wielded her words like he wielded his katana. If Team Taka was still functional, he would have added her in a heartbeat.

Jugo knew a good thing when he saw it.

Hizashi smoothed his palms over the fabric on his thighs. More performative than anything. "Pardon me, but it was my understanding that our missive outlined the need of the Hyuga clan to inspect your Caged Bird seal."

"Oh." Hinata's hand slipped up to the spot where the curve of her mouth met the veil. It was astounding how this woman could look both like a weapon and so fragile at the same time. A part of Sasuke bought the lie and his stomach clenched. He inspected his tea as an excuse to gather himself.

He threw it back once Hinata started speaking again so he could have no distractions.

"Indeed," she said. "I understand the need of the Clan to protect its interests. If I may be so bold, and I apologize, but the message may have been more effective if I could read."

Neji snapped his gaze up to her.

Hizashi gave a long, slow blink. "The Hyuga clan would have taught you to read before you left…" He said.

Hinata sprung the trap. Her shoulder blades snapped upwards and her head dropped as she curled into herself as if embarrassed. "One cannot read if one cannot see, Huyga-san."

The silence was still and oppressive. With trained ears, Sasuke monitored the heartbeats of the people in the room. Hizashi's and Neji's were steady but Sasuke could hear the sharp intake of breath from Hizashi. And the momentary stilling of Neji's. But for some reason, he could only focus on Hinata.

Calmer than a sea with no wind, her heart pumped steadily. He peeked out of the corner of his eye and while her act was physically immaculate, the rhythm was hypnotizing. It was pulling him in, urging him closer… Her tongue flicked out to lick at her lips and Sasuke could not look away. His breath fell into sync with hers without any conscious thought on his part.

Hizashi spoke and the spell was broken. His voice suddenly was too loud in Sasuke's ears. "I beg your pardon?"

She ducked her head, and this was not the woman who dispatched the bandits with cold efficiency. This was a different woman. It was a performance worthy of an opera house. She looked scared and alone. Sasuke clenched his fist underneath the table. She was a consummate liar.

"… For most of my life…" She raised a trembling hand to her temples before dropping it abruptly in her lap. "General Mifune and others… w-wondered about my seal. A series of experiments… rendered me blind."

Despite himself, Sasuke wondered at how much of this was the truth. Her Cursed Seal had indeed been removed, which did suggest tampering… possibly experimentation. But blind?

He highly doubted it. Yet, _something_ was wrong with her eyes.

But what?

Hizashi shuffled on his knees and inclined his head in a facsimile of a bow. Neji gave a tiny jerk as if he had been struck.

"I apologize, Hinata-sama." Hizashi intoned.

Even Hinata paused. Sasuke felt struck dumb. What was going on?

Hizashi continued. "I have never had the opportunity to ask for your forgiveness nor had the opportunity to thank you for your sacrifice. We had hoped… I had hoped you were still Hyuga enough to rejoin the family." He bent until his forehead was touching the tatami. Neji was so agitated he was practically vibrating. "As Branch members, we are indebted to you. If you are in need, we hope you do not hesitate to call upon us." He smoothly got to his feet and his son followed.

"We will report your status to our Head. No further action will be taken. Our apologies for disturbing you. Hinata-sama. Sasuke-sama."

In unison, the Hyuga gave small bows and silently left. In shock, Hinata and Sasuke sat in silence until she finally tilted her head towards him.

"That… was not supposed to happen, was it? Were they saying… what I think they were saying?"

"He was… very particular in letting you know that the Branch supported you."

"That…" She placed her hands on the table and knotted her fingers together. Her show of nerves soothed Sasuke. Even though she was a consummate liar, he was able to identify what was the truth. Or she felt safe enough to show her real feelings to him.

If she was false with him, he would know.

"That was not what I had expected," she admitted.

Sasuke would have to reconsider if Naruto suspected anything. However, Sasuke allowed himself to be honest with Hinata as well.

"I did not expect that either."

Later, Sasuke lay in bed, staring at the shadows. He contemplated what would have happened if he allowed himself to be weak and asked: "What will you do with that opportunity?"

And in his mind, she would have turned her head towards him and said through the lace: "Your advice would be very much appreciated, Sasuke-san." Even if she had no obligation to follow it. But she would. Because she trusted him.

He hissed and rolled onto his stomach, firmly pressing his hips into the mattress.

oOo

Not more than a week later, Jugo let Sasuke stew for half a day. Sasuke turned his head to the doorway where the other man was wringing his hands together.

"Do you want food? Water?" Jugo asked quietly.

Sasuke did not bother to lift his head off the pillow before turning his gaze back to the celling.

"Sasuke… you've been getting worse." Jugo tentatively shuffled in further. "The tea didn't help?"

Sasuke did not answer.

"I'll get Hinata." Jugo decided.

oOo

Sasuke slouched forward on the stool in the kitchen after Jugo had poked and prodded him down the stairs. Hinata stood next to Jugo explaining… something about the chakra pathway system and chakra build up. Sasuke could not bring himself to care.

He could feel Hinata slip her arm around him to place a hand on the middle of his chest. Jugo slightly pulled Sasuke up. Chakra pulsed through her hand and practically instantaneously, Sasuke felt like he could take a full breath for the first time in weeks. Possibly since Hinata first gave him that tea.

Hinata's voice came back into focus, like tuning into the right station on the radio. "The Harm Gate, Death Gate, and Life Gate are very concentrated in this spot in the body. His Initial Gate," Hinata carefully cupped a hand over the Rinnegan, "is also blocked."

She instructed Sasuke to take a breath in and in a second, a headache that had been simmering without his conscious knowledge dissolved.

Lastly, she placed a firm hand on the base of his spine. "Lastly, most of his chakra is pooling at this Gate. The Wonder Gate." She released her chakra and Sasuke had to frantically bite back a loud and unexpected groan.

It was crass but honestly, arousal rushed through him as if being released along with his chakra. The tips of his toes and fingers tingled like limbs being filled with blood for the first time in a long time. He felt lighter and had to reign in the extra energy coursing through him. Everything seemed lighter and more intense than before.

He was so fucking turned on. Sasuke hunched over further and covered his smile with his hand.

"How are you feeling, Sasuke?" Jugo bent over to peer into Sasuke's face.

Amused at his body's reaction to feeling like a regular human being again, Sasuke nodded his head. When he wrestled his emotions back into those suited for polite company, he was going to have to break the news.

Jugo was never allowed to help Sasuke out with this.

oOo

Sasuke ran into Yamato at the library. Sasuke was leafing through a book when he felt a presence on his left. Flicking his hair out of his eye, he glanced at the person standing next to him.

Yamato reached over and pushed the cover up so he could see the cover. "Construction." He hummed and glanced at some book spines around them. "Home improvement."

Sasuke allowed himself to roll his eyes. Yamato and Kakashi really should not spend so much time with each other. "Your point?"

"Most people would just ask one of their former team members to help them build a new house." Yamato intoned seriously, almost like he was offended by the oversight.

Sasuke resisted the urge to sigh. Of course, people already knew about Sasuke's plans. There was no privacy in a village of nins. Snapping the book shut, he said: "You would just put traps in it or rig it to fall down when I was inside."

Yamato smirked. He pulled out a selection of tomes and stacked them on Sasuke's original book. "I had to try."

"Anything else?" Sasuke asked drily.

Yamato clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll go with you to the lumberyard." He turned to go. "Orochimaru was dead for at least a while because of you. I can manage to help you find some lumber."

Sasuke watched the other man disappear behind the shelves before looking down his stack of books. This time he allowed himself to sigh. Time for some reading.

He was dropping them off in his bedroom when Jugo appeared at the doorway.

"Hinata's going to fight Tenten!" The redhead announced.

oOo

Sasuke settled himself in some branches above the training ground and took stock of other people doing the same. Jugo was right next to him and there was a flash of gold and Naruto was settling himself on a branch nearby.

"What's happening?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke's brow furrowed. "I remember something about Tenten asking Hinata if she would want to spar but…"

"This doesn't feel like just sparring." Jugo said.

And it did not. Most spars did not have half the village ringing the clearing as spectators. The tension hung over the clearing almost like killing intent. Hinata stood on one end, her naginata behind her back and her short sword strapped to her waist. She had her hakama tucked into her armored boots, gauntlets on her forearms, her chest plate over a yukata, and the eyeless helmet. Underneath the helmet her hair fell down her back in a slim ponytail.

Tenten was on the other end, in her classic sparring outfit and scroll behind her back. Her Bashōsen was nowhere to be seen.

Jugo shifted nervously and clutched his hands together. A bird floated over to land on his shoulder.  
"Is Hinata a good fighter?"

Is that why the audience was here? "She fought in the war. She survived." Sasuke shrugged. For him, that was good enough.

A nearby nin picked up the gossip and it spread around the clearing in a wave. Hinata was not an honorary samurai. She was a warrior, like them.

The anticipation ratcheted up to an almost oppressive degree.

Hinata raised her naginata and the whispering ceased. Sasuke could almost hear her foot as it slid over the grass as she sunk down into position. With a shout, Tenten launched herself into the air. A flick of her wrist and the scroll opened.

Hinata did not move until the weapons were almost on top of her. Jugo grabbed Sasuke's empty sleeve.

Sasuke reached around and placed the hand on his triceps right before the arm ended. Jugo squeezed once in thanks.

When he did so, Hinata swung her naginata and body in a circle. It almost reminded Sasuke of the Hyuga's 8 Trigrams Palm Rotation. But Hinata did not stay still. Like a cyclone, she moved forward, knocking away kunai and hatchets.

Tenten was not done. She sent another barrage of weapons Hinata's way then disappeared. Hinata stopped her forward movement but she was still working on repelling the attack. She stopped moving in a circle and planted herself facing forward. Tenten, with a mace in hand, reappeared behind Hinata and bore down from above.

Still busy with knocking spears out of the air, it looked like Hinata would not notice the attack from behind. Tenten almost even seemed to hesitate when she was practically on top of Hinata.

Hinata flipped her spear and planted the blade of her weapon in the ground. Leaving it for a moment, she reached over and behind her with both hands and grabbed Tenten's wrist.

With a shout that was eerily filtered through the respirator, Hinata threw the other woman over her head in a show of sheer strength. Hinata had to crouch at the end so Tenten's legs would not impact.

Tenten landed on her back. Hinata sprung up from her crouch and sprinted to the other woman. Tenten jumped to her feet and Hinata threw herself into a slide on her knees. She unsheathed her sword and slashed at Tenten's calves. Tenten jumped over the blade and used her chakra to once again disappear out of existence in a puff of smoke.

She reappeared in a pile of weapons and grabbed a handful of kunai. She threw them at her opponent as a distraction as she moved to pick up Hinata's naginata. There was an electrical whine which visibly confused Tenten. Until, it let off a bolt of electricity.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. The weapon did not do that when he touched it.

Tenten was thrown backward into a tree. Hinata sheathed her sword and calmly paced over to her spear. She grabbed it and headed over to her partner. Hinata had the confidence of a predator, but she did not care if her prey saw her. She was so unlike a shinobi, Sasuke felt a strange sort of thrill watching her fight.

One of her sleeves was torn, her chest plate and knees were caked with mud. Tenten pulled herself up the tree. Once within striking distance, Hinata thrust the blade forward. It stabbed through a small log. She thrust her spear straight backwards. Tenten dodged, grabbed the handle in a gutsy move and kicked Hinata in the back, pinning her to the tree.

Jugo's grip tightened. Naruto hissed.

Hinata grunted and let go of her weapon. The warning sound of an electrical blast began again. Tenten dropped it in a panic. In her distraction, she let the pressure off her foot and off Hinata.

Hinata pulled out her sword once again and reached up to stab it into the tree. Using it to pull herself up she scrambled up a bit then pushed off in a backflip. Leaving the naginata behind, Hinata ran to get some distance. Tenten followed her.

Hinata slid to a stop, anchoring one of her boots in the mud and flipping an axe into her hand with another, she threw it at Tenten.

Tenten dodged and then they were sparring hand to hand.

It was a magnificent display of skill. And every time Tenten moved to grab her scroll, she would get distracted by a well-aimed kick or Hinata would pluck a weapon off the ground. At some point, Tenten must have thought a long-range attack was not worth arming her opponent further.

Tenten managed to get her hands on a hatchet and she jabbed the handle underneath Hinata's jaw. Hinata cried out as her helmet was knocked off. She stumbled back and caught the piece of armor midair. When Tenten moved forward, Hinata swung it across her body and smacked Tenten in the face with it.

Tenten's head snapped to the side as blood spewed out of her mouth. Everyone froze as the strange atmosphere dissipated.

Hinata fell to one knee, leaning on her helmet planted in the ground to keep her upright. Tenten staggered away a couple of steps and brought a hand up to her jaw.

She prodded her mouth for a couple of seconds. "Ow."

Hinata tugged a bit at the bindings covering her face. Then she touched her neck. "Me too." She breathed around a small smile before letting out a cough.

Tenten laughed and leaned forward resting her hands on her thighs. "Cleanup is gonna be a bitch. I don't know if I have enough chakra yet to get all of these things back in my scroll."

Hinata giggled. "Good luck with that, I'm going home."

"Aw man."

Sasuke was not surprised when the two women received enough volunteers.

oOo

Jugo insisted that Hinata come home with them so he could fuss over the cuts and bruises she received. He had been practicing his healing techniques and was eager to help her out. Unknown to Sasuke, Jugo volunteered Sasuke's clothes as a replacement for Hinata's ripped and bloody ones.

Sasuke passed Jugo in the hall. Jugo smiled around his armful of dirty laundry.

"I told her I'd wash and mend it." Jugo said shyly.

"You like her that much?" Sasuke murmured.

Jugo blushed. "She's nice. She's… like us." He ducked his head down but clearly fought to meet Sasuke's eyes. "She should be one of us."

Longing stabbed through his chest so sharply it felt like he needed to catch his breath. Sasuke faced forward and continued to his bedroom. The screen was not shut all the way and Sasuke accidently saw through the gap. Hinata's back was to him but she turned her head to the side as she pulled the yukata over her bare shoulders. It was one of his plain ones, with no clan insignia on the back.

_Pity_ , Sasuke thought. Then was immediately embarrassed.

Ears hot, Sasuke did a quick about face and went to go hide with Jugo.

**oOo**


End file.
